Fan.



0. H J. DILG.

FAN.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT; 14, 1908.

Patented Apr. 28, 1914.

IIVVENTUR 37 $4412 1 94 BY v ATTORNEYJ' WITNESSES M COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co., WASHINGTON. D, c

rinrnn sTArEs PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES H. J. DILG, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO EGK DYNAMO AND MOTOR COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

FAN.

Application filed September 14, 1908.

1 b all whom 2'25 may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. J. DILG, a citizen of the United States, and resident of New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fans, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates generally to fans, and to means for driving and controlling the same, and has more especially reference to an electric motor and gearing particularly adapted to be used in connection with fans, and to the arrangement of the fans, and controlling means, to be driven thereby.

The main object of the invention is the production of a fan capable of diffusing and distributing the air over a wide area and in many directions, universally adjustable and controllable, and simple in construction.

The fan of the present invention is of the oscillating type generally, as distinguished from the general class of revolving fans, and certain broad features which may be used in common with fans of both types have been claimed in a companion application filed by me of even date herewith and bearing Serial No. 452,814.

One feature of the invention resides in in'iparting an oscillatory motion to a fan in a. substantially horizontal plane, and additionally imparting thereto an individual rotation substantially at right angles to the revolution of the fan, together with means for adjusting the fan at an angle to the plane of its oscillation.

The main difference between the construction used in this application and in that of my copending application, Serial No. d52,81at, filed September 14:, 1908, lies in the folowing: In my copending application the fan is given a revolving bodily movement with the casing in addition to a rotation around its own axis; whereas, in this application the bodily movement of the fan and casing is one of oscillation as mentioned above. The features that are common to both cases are claimed in the said copending application.

Instead of using one fan, any number of fans may be utilized all possessing the same Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 28, 1914.

Serial No. 452,815.

movement and adjustment. Then several fans are so used they may be adjustable in dependently one of the other.

In connection with the foregoing, there may be employed a second fan substantially at right angles to the first fan and rotating in a substantially horizontal plane. This second fan may or may not partake of the oscillating motion of the first fan.

Any suitable means may be utilized to impart the several motions, but in the more preferred form an electric motor is preferably utilized both to produce the oscillating motion and the individual rotation of the fans. In the preferred form the oscillatory member is the motor casing itself, and this motor casing as well as the fan or fans are all driven positively by connections from the armature shaft of the motor.

Another feature of the invention resides in positively driving two fans, placed substantially at right angles to each other on a motor, from the armature shaft of the motor. In connection with this feature means are provided for adjusting the angular relation between the fans.

Whenever an electric motor is utilized as the prime mover, it may be arranged so that its armature shaft extends in a substantially horizontal plane. In the preferred form, however, the motor is so arranged that its armature shaft extends in a substantially vertical direction.

Obviously the fan and motor, if used, may be either suspended from the ceiling, placed on a column or otherwise mounted as may be desired.

The invention further consists of a motor whose casing is oscillated concentrically around its armature shaft by connections driven from the said armature shaft.

In connection with the above, or independently thereof, a further improvement consists in an oscillating member having a fan which latter is given an independent rotation, and devices permitting the fan to be rotated independently of or in unison (simultaneously) with the oscillation of the oscillating member. As before, the oscillating member may take many forms, but will preferably consist of an electric motor which carries the fan; the oscillating motion of the motor casing and the rotation of the fan both being obtained from the rotating armature shaft.

Vith this construction there may be utilized several fans, preferably disposed at an angle to each other, and one of said fans may be carried by the oscillating motor cas ing or other member, while the other is carried independently thereof, say by the armature shaft. when this form is used it is preferable to so arrange the parts that when the rotation of the fan carried by the motor casing ceases, the latter will cease its oscillation.

A further feature of the invention resides in having two fans preferably disposed at an angle to each other, both of which are independently rotatable and one or both of which follow the oscillatory motion of an oscillating motor casing. Preferably all the motions are obtained by driving connections from the amature shaft. Devices may further be utilized to throw either of the fans out of operation.

hen the oscillatory member is in the form of an oscillating motor casing, it is convenient to support the brushes for the collector rings on a stationary gear forming a part of the transmission mechanism. This is a feature in itself.

A further improvement resides in the particular train of gears used in causing the motorcasing to oscillate, and further broadly in oscillating the motor casing by means of connections driven from the armature shaft, together with means for disengaging the train of connections so that the motor casing will not oscillate. It may be remarked here that wherever gear is mentioned it should be held to include any transmission mechanism, such as friction pulleys and disks.

The means for controlling the several fans and the oscillatory member, or the gearing for same so as to rend-er the same operative or inoperative at will, may take many forms. Preferably, however, means are utilized which extend up through the armature shaft, or in certain cases the armature shaft itself is moved up or down. The several members can be controlled by a single device which serves to operate different means by turning it or by raising and lowering it. Or separate rods or other means may be employed for the several fans and other members. If desired, the switch and rheostat can be conjointly or separately controlled in the same manner.

Where several fans are utilized one of said fans may be a normally idle fan, and the same means which are employed to place this fan in operation may be utilized by a progressive movement to disconnect the normally rotating fan, and, if desired, to stop the oscillating member as well. The same or other means may be employed to bodily lift the armature shaft for the purpose of controlling the parts, when a longitudinally movable armature shaft. is employed.

Minor features of construction will appear as this specification proceeds.

In the accompanyin drawings is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, but various changes in the construction and arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

In the said drawings: Figure 1, is a vertical sectional view of a ceiling fan constructed in accordance with and embodying the features of my invention certain of the parts being shown in elevation. Fig. 1 is a sectional view taken along the line 1-1 Fig. 1, and shows the construction of the controlling rheostat. Fig. 2, is a broken sectional view taken on the line w-w of Fig. 1, to show the construction of the sector clamp for holding the upper fans at the proper angle. Fig. 3, is a sectional view taken on the line g -;I of Fig. 1, illustrating the worm or elevating device for the fan controlling member. Fig. 1, is a broken detail view of a slightly modified form of driving connections for imparting an oscillatory motion to the fan.

The device may be used either as a ceiling or a column fan, and it is illustrated in the drawings in its use as a ceiling fan. Where the word fan is used in the specification without any descriptive words, it refers to the device as a whole.

An electric motor is preferably used as the motive power for the fan and this is preferably mounted for rotation and carries with it in its rotation the individual fan or fans, but if desired, the mot-or could be mounted stationary and be used to drive a revoluble member carrying the fans.

The preferred manner of mounting the motor is illustrated in the drawings, wherein it will be seen that the motor casing 1, is carried by a frame 2, which is swiveled to a stationary part preferably by means of a headed stud or screw 3. This stationary part is preferably in the form of a gear at, carried by a post 5, or other support.

As a means for conducting the electric current to the motor I prefer to use collector rings 6, from which suitable connections (not shown) lead to the motor, and brushes 7, carried by the stationary gear, but if desired, the same result could be accomplished simply by the use of a flexible con ductor between the stationary and movable part.

The upper fans 8, which ma be one or more in number and which rotate in an ap proximately vertical plane, are carried by fan shafts 9, the said shafts being journaled in supporting brackets 10, which brackets are pivoted to swing on a center 11. On the inner ends of these fan shafts are the driven members 12, which are adapted to be engaged by the driving member 13, on the armature shaft 14, these driving and driven members are preferably in the form of a friction disk and friction pulleys respectively, and the meeting friction surfaces of the driving and driven members are curved on an arc whose center is the cross-sectional center of the friction pulleys. The axes of the pivotal support for the fan shafts are in alinement with the center point of the arc of contact between the driving and driven members, so that the angular relation of the fan shafts may be altered without disengaging the driving and driven members. The friction disk is fastened to the armature shaft preferably by means of a feather 14, so as to be capable of a slight sliding movement on said shaft and this movement of the disk is confined between the retaining flanges or collars 15, the spring 16, acting downward to normally hold the friction disk in engagement with the friction pulleys.

Some means are provlded for holding the pivotal supports of the fan shafts in adjusted position and such means would preferably take the form of a sector-like supporting member 17, and a corresponding sector extension 18, on the pivotal support, the two sectors being curved on an arc having as its center the axis of the pivotal support. The sectors are held in their adjusted relation by a clamping device preferably in the shape of a block 19, and a set screw 20, said parts serving to clamp the two sectors together. A washer 21, would preferably be interposed beneath the head of the set screw. The relatively stationary supporting sector would be slotted at 22, to allow the passage of the pivotal support and the clamp. This so-called supporting sector could be in the form of a bowl shaped part carried by the motor casing, as illus trated, or it could be made in a number of differentparts.

The armature shaft 23, is preferably made in tubular form to permit the passage therethrough of controlling means for the motor and for the different fans. The controlling means for the motor would preferably consist of a rod 24, provided with a handle 25, and having keyed to its upper end a flanged bushing 26, said bushing carrying a switch arm 27, for engagement with the contact or contacts of a controlling switch 28. This bushing is preferably secured to the rod by means of a feather or like fastening 29, so that the rod may be shifted longitudinally without affecting the relation of the switch arm and rheostat. It will be evident that by the turning of this rod, the motor may be controlled at will.

Besides the upper normally active fans, I prefer to use a lower normally idle fan 30,

which is adapted to rotate in a horizontal plane. The armature shaft and this normally inactive fan have corresponding clutch members 31 and 32 respectively, or if so desired, this lower fan could be positively con nected to the armature shaft and be operated as a normally active fan.

For the purpose of controlling the differ ent fans, I prefer to use a controlling member 33, in the shape of a tube or sleeve which also extends up through the armature shaft and is provided at its lower end with a handle 34. This controlling member and the normally idle fan have opposing parts forming a ball bearing 35, which acts to support the lower fan under-normal conditions. In order to effect engagement of the clutch members to bring the normally idle fan into action, I prefer to use a worm or screw member 36, engaging a spiral seat or thread in the stationary part 37. From this it will be evident that a turning movement of the controlling member, by reason of this worm, will bring the clutch members into active engagement and cause the lower fan tobe driven. A further rotation of the control ling member will bring the lower disk-confining collar into engagement with the driving disk and lift the said disk from engage ment with the driven members on the fan shafts, thus rendering the upper fans inactive and allowing the lower fan to remain active. The controlling member may be and preferably is, locked with the parts in any of these different relations by means of a springpressed plunger 38, which engages corresponding seats 39, in the worm member.

Under normal conditions, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the armature shaft is supported by the transmission gearing between the armature shaft and the fan shafts, the weight of the armature shaft preserving the proper amount of driving friction between the driving and driven members. The tensionspring before referred to, holds the friction disk in proper engagement with the driven pulleys when the controlling member has been elevated to bring the low fan into active engagement with the armature shaft.

As a means for oscillating the fan, I prefer to use the construction shown in Fig. 1, wherein an auxiliary shaft 40, receives motion from the armature shaft by means of the worm gear 41, and worm 42, on the auxiliary and armature shafts respectively, the auxiliary shaft having a short-throw crank 43, connected by a link 44, to the comparatively long-throw crank 45. This latter crank is carried by a stub shaft 46, having a bevel gear 47, meshing with the bevel gear 48, on the lower end of the intermediate shaft 49, the said intermediate shaft carrying at its upper end a spur pinion 50, in mesh with the stationary gear, before mentioned. By this means the short-throw crank rotates in a single direction according to the motion of the armature shaft and imparts through the connecting link to the long-throw crank oscillatory movement, resulting in oscillations of the stub shaft. These oscillations of the stub shaft cause an oscillatory movement of the spur gear which being in mesh with the large stationary gear imparts an oscillatory movement to the fan as a whole. The long-throw crank is preferably adjustable by means of a slotted connection 67. Another means of accomplishing this oscillatory motion is illustrated in Fig. 4. Here a spur pinion 51, on the armature shaft drives a spur gear 52, which is journaled at 53. This spur gear serves as a short-throw crank, it having a crank pin 5%, connected by a link 55, to a long-throw crank 56, on the intermediate shaft 5?, the said intermediate shaft having as before, a spur pinion 58. in mesh with the large stationary gear. The principle of action here is the same as in the instance just described. The short-throw crank receives a continuous rotation from the armature shaft, and by reason of the re lation of the short and long throw cranks an oscillatory motion is imparted to the spur pinion 58, which by reason of this engagement with the stationary gear, causes the fan to oscillate. The crank pin of the long-throw crank would preferably be ad j ustable by means of a slotted connection 67.

As it might and probably would be desirable under certain conditions, to stop the oscillation of the fan, means are provided for accomplishing this result. As shown in Fig. 1, these means would preferably take the form of a shifting lever 59, pivoted at a point 60, having engagement at its outer end with a shifting collar 61, on the intermediate shaft and engaging at its inner end, a shifting collar 62, on the controller rod. From this it will be evident that by shifting the controller rod up or down the driving bevel gears may be thrown out of or into operating engagement, thus rendering the fan stationary or oscillatory as desired. In order to hold the bevel gears either in or out of mesh, some sort of locking device necessary and for this purpose I prefer to use a detent spring 63, which is engaged by an angular locking projection 6 L, on the shifting lover. The shifting lever will thus be locked in either position.

As the oscillatory movement would be of no value when the upper fans are inactive, means would preferably be provided for automatically stopping the oscillatory motion when the said upper fans are rendered inactive. A simple way of accomplishing this result and one which 1 prefer to use, is by providing the elevating worm with an abutment extension 65, which, when the control ling member is elevated to disengage the driving disk from the friction pulleys for the purpose of stopping the upper fans, would engage the shifting collar on the controller rod and operating the shifting lever to disengage the driving bevel gears. If desired, a lower ball bearing 66, may be provided for the armature shaft.

The means disclosed constitutes the preferred embodimentfor accomplishing the oscillatory movement of the fan, but I do not wish to limit myself to these precise constructions as other means might be dcvised for accomplishing the same results.

hat is claimed, is:

1. The combination of a fan, means for causing said fan to oscillate in a substantially horizontal plane, means for imparting an individual rotation to the fan substantially at right angles to the oscillation of the fan, means for adjusting the fan at an angle to the plane of the oscillation of the fan, a second fan substantially at right angles to the first fan, and means for causing said second fan to rotate in a substantially horizontal plane.

2. The combination of a fan, an electric motor, means driven from the armature shaft of said motor for causing the fan to oscillate in a substantially horizontal plane, means also driven from said armature shaft for imparting an individual rotation to the fan substantially in a vertical plane and at right angles to the oscillation of the fan, means for adjusting the fan at an angle to the plane of the oscillation of the fan, a second fan substantially at right angles to the first fan, and means also driven from the armature shaft for causing said second fan to rotate in a substantially horizontal plane.

3. The combination of an electric motor, a fan carried by the motor, means driven from the armature shaft of the motor for causing the motor, and with it the fan, to oscillate in a substantially horizontal plane, means driven from the armature shaft for imparting an individual rotation to the fan substantially in a vertical plane and at right angles to the plane of oscillation of the motor, means for adjusting the fan at an angle to the plane of the oscillation of the motor, a second fan substantially at right angles to the first fan, and means also driven from the armature shaft for causing said second fan to rotate in a substantially horizontal plane,

at. The combination with the casing and armature shaft of a motor, of means for causing the casing to oscillate concentrically around the armature shaft by connections driven from the latter, a fan carried by the motor casing so as to oscillate therewith, and driving connections from the armature shaft to said fan.

5. The combination with the casing and armature shaft of a motor, of bearings for supporting the casing and shaft so that the latter extends vertically, means driven fro-m the armature shaft for causing the casing to oscillate concentrically around the armature shaft, a fan carried by the motor casing so as to oscillate therewith, and driving connections from the armature shaft to said fan.

6. In combination, an oscillatory member mounted for swinging movement around a center of support, fan shafts disposed on opposite sides of the center of support and extending in diametrically opposite directions, fans on the outer ends of said shafts, a driving member engaging the inner ends of the fan shafts, means for adjusting the outer ends of the shafts to change the iiiclination of such fan shafts, and a substantially horizontally disposed fan centrally disposed beneath the upper fan shafts.

7. The combination of an oscillatory member, a fan carried thereby, a second fan disposed at an angle to the first fan, a common actuating means for rotating both fans, and devices permitting either of said fans to be rotated independently of the other, or both in unison at will, and independently of, or in unison with, the movement of the oscillatory member.

8. The combination of a motor, a fan carried thereby, means for oscillating said motor driven by connections from the armature shaft, a second fan disposed at an angle to the first fan driving connections from the armature shaft for rotating each fan, and devices for permitting either of said fans to be rotated independently of the other or both in unison at will.

9. In combination, an oscillatory member mounted for swinging movement around a center of support, fan shafts disposed on opposite sides of the center of support and extending in diametrically opposite directio-ns, fans on the outer ends of said shafts, a driving member engaging the inner ends of the fan shafts, means for adjusting the outer ends of the shafts to change the inclination of such fan shafts, a substantially horizontally disposed fan centrally disposed beneath the upper fan shafts, and means for controlling the operation of the lower horizontal fan either independent of or in connection with the upper fans.

10. The combination of a motor, a fan carried thereby, a second fan disposed at an angle to the first fan, driving connections from the armature shaft for causing the motor to oscillate and the fans to be driven, and devices permitting either of said fans to be rotated independently of the other or both in unison at will, independently of or in unison with the oscillating motor.

11. The combination of an oscillatory member, a fan carried thereby, a second fan, a common actuating means for rotating the two fans, and for oscillating the member, controlling means to allow either fan to be rotated independently of the other or both in unison at will, and means whereby the movement of the oscillatory member is stopped when one of the fans is thrown out of operation.

12. The combination of a motor whose casing is oscillatory, a fan carried by the casing, a second fan disposed at an angle to the first fan carried independently of the Easing, driving connections from the armature shaft for causing the casing to oscillate and the fans to be rotated, controlling means to allow either fan to be rotated independently of the other or both in unison at will, and means whereby the oscillation of the casing ceases when the fan carried thereby is thrown out of operation.

13. The combination of a motor whose casing is oscillatory, a fan carried by the casing, a second fan disposed at an angle to the first fan and carried independently of the casing, driving connections from the armature shaft for causing the casing to be oscillated and the fans to be rotated.

1 1-. The combination of a motor whose casing is oscillatory, a fan carried by the casing, a second fan disposed at an angle to the first fan, and carried independently of the casing, driving connections from the armature shaft for causing the casing to be oscillated and the fans to be rotated, and devices permitting either of said fans to be rotated independently of'the other or both in unison at will. i

15. The combination of a motor whose casing is oscillatory, a fan carried by the casing, a second fan disposed at an angle to the first fan and carried independently of the casing, driving connections from the armature shaft for causing the casing to be oscillated and the fans to be rotated, and devices permitting either of said fans to be rotated independently of the other or both in unison at will, and independently of or simultaneously with the movement of the oscillatory motor casing.

16. The combination with a motor having an oscillatory casing, of two fans one of which follows the oscillation of the motor and is independently rotatable as well, and the other of which rotates independently of the oscillation of the casing.

17. The combination with a motor having an oscillatory casing, of two fans one of which follows the oscillation of the motor and is independently rotatable as well, and the other of which rotates independently of the oscillation of the casing, and driving connections from the armature shaft of the motor for causing the oscillation of the easing and the rotation of the fans.

18. The combination with a motor having as oscillatory casing, of two fans one of which follows the oscillation of the motor and is independently rotatable as well, and the other of which rotates independently of-the oscillation of the casing, and driving connections from the armature shaft of the motor for causing the oscillation of the easing and the rotation of the fans, and means for throwing either of said fans out of op eration.

19. The combination with a motor having an oscillatory casing. of two fans disposed at an angle to each other both of which follow the oscillation of the casing and both of which have an independent rotation, driving connections from the armature shaft of the motor for causing the oscillation of the casing and the rotation of the fans and means for simultaneously interrupting the operation of one of the fans and the oscil lation of the casing.

20. The combination with a. motor having an oscillatory casing, of two fans disposed at an angle to each other both of which follow the oscillation of the casing and both of which have an independent rotation, driving connections from the armature shaftof the motor for causing the oscillation of the casing and the rotation of the fans, and means for throwing either of said fans out of operation.

21. The combination of an oscillatory member moving in a substantially horizontal plane, a fan rotatable substantially at right angles to the oscillatory member and carried thereby, and means for rotating the fan independently of the oscillation of the oscillatory member or in unison therewith.

22. In combination with an electric motor having a vertically disposed armature shaft, a driving gear on the shaft, fan-shafts, driven gears on the fan-shafts to be engaged by the driving gear, the driven and driving gears serving to normally support the armature shaft, a controlling member, a normally idle fan supported by said controlling memher, clutch members on the armature shaftand normally idle fan, the controlling member adapted to bring the clutch members on the armature shaft and normally idle fan into active engagement and also to disengage the driving from the driven gears, a bearing 011 the controlling member to support the armature shaft when the gears are disengaged, and means operated from the motor to oscillate bodily the motor and the fans driven thereby.

23. In a fan, an electric motor mounted for oscillation, fans operated by the motor, means for individually controlling the fans, a controlling switch carried by and oscillating with the motor, means for operating said cont-rolling switch to control the motor, all of said controlling means being carried by the motor.

24;. In combination, a. motor having a casing supported for oscillation, a fan carried by said casing arranged to rotate in a sub stantially vertical plane, a second fan disposed to rotate in a substantially horizontal plane, driving connections from the armature shaft of the motor for rotating said fans, and means for independently controlling the operation of the fans and the oscillation of the motor casing.

25. In combination, an oscillating member mounted for swinging movement around a center of support, fan shafts carried by said member and disposed on difierent sides of the center of support, a driving member en gaging the inner ends of the fan shafts, and means for adjusting the outer ends of the fan shafts to change the inclination of such shafts.

Signed at New York in the county of New York and State of New York this eighth day of September A. D. 1908.

CHARLES H. J. DILG.

Witnesses:

AXEL V. BEEKER, PHILIP S. MGLEAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner 01' Patents, Washington, D. C. 

